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Lanterns on the Lake

Following the success oftheir critically acclaimed debut in 2011, Lanterns OnThe Lake return with a new album, the sublime UntilThe Colours Run, which will be released 9th September on BellaUnion.

The source of the music remains the same,an exquisitely crafted blend of symphonic rock, folk and electronics - butmuch has changed in the interim. The album was recorded during a time offinancial and personal adversity, and as a result, Until The ColoursRun is more soulful and dynamic than its predecessor. In sound,it’s both harder (‘Elodie’, the title track) and more luminous(‘Green And Gold’, ‘Picture Show’), and a more emotionally and politicallycharged experience, as singer/lyricist Hazel Wilde paints unflinching portraitsof what she sees. It’s a haunting, often devastating combination.

Take the album’s first single ‘Another TaleFrom Another English Town’, their most strikingly beautiful statement yet, withthe equally striking video by director James Alexander Grieves mirroringthe song’s elegy for the inevitable end of youthful innocence, and the hardtimes that lie ahead. “I think the way things are going in this country, it’sgoing to be hard for people not to write music that carries some of thatweight,” Wilde says. “While we were making the record, a lot of ourfriends were losing their jobs and there were some drastic cuts being made,especially in our part of the world.”

At the same time, there was a cut within theLOTL ranks when brothers Adam and Brendan Sykes chose to leave the bandlast year. Wilde (vocals, guitar, piano), Paul Gregory (guitars,electronics, production), Ol Ketteringham (drums) and Sarah Kemp (violin) werejoined in the recording by new bassist Andrew Scrogham. “Adam and Brendannever played a very creative role in terms of songwriting, but we still feltthe upheaval,” Wilde recalls. “There was a point about halfway throughrecording where some of us felt like giving up – we were broke and recordingsweren’t going to plan. But we’ve always believed that we’re doing somethingworthwhile and these songs became so important to us. That passion drove us tofinish the record.”

‘Until The Colours Run’ may contain somedark, political undertones but Wilde states: "For me the albumis also bursting with a huge amount of colour and life that reaches out fromthe darkness. Like the lyric, ‘so we’ll drink and we’ll sing on thebreadline.’ It almost celebrates the feeling of there being nothing left tolose whilst we made the record. It feels like there is a story that runsthrough the songs, a personal journey through modern life - hope, despair, loveand desperate times."

Critical acclaim for "GraciousTide, Take Me Home", the debut album from Lanterns On The Lake:

“Gracious Tide, Take Me Home fusesthe ethereal chamber pop of This Mortal Coil with introspective folk and subtleelectronic flourishes to fine effect… There’s not a weak moment on this engagingdebut.”

Q – 4 Stars ****

“Lanterns On The Lake are well named, theirtake on slowcore dream-pop bathed in a crepuscular mist of reverb, its liltingacoustic guitars, tinkling glockenspiels and swooning violins evoking adistant, lustrous glow.”

MOJO – 4 Stars ****

“this is folk music given the widescreentreatment… Beauty is Lanterns On The Lake’s chosen weapon and they deploy itimpressively.”

Uncut – 4 Stars ****

“Bella Union’s latest signing is well versedin treading the line between dainty folk and emotional, widescreen rock… Theydo this in the most beautiful way possible: a pure and sublime debut.”

Artrocker – 5 Stars *****

“As luminous as the name suggests, thischamber folk outfit conjure moon-lit moods on their debut… With lullabies thislovely it’s bliss just to go with the mellifluous flow”

The Independent – 4 Stars ****

“These fascinating Geordie folk have found anatural home on Bella Union… Their lushly romantic debut album features therare blend of glockenspiels, synths, mandolin and more casting a deep, manylayered spell.”

The Mirror – 4 stars ****

“Newcastle’s Lanterns on the Lake take their cuefrom the rapture of Sigur Ros, all breathy vocals and chamber-rock wonderment…Their debut album has a rich slow-burning atmosphere.”